C

MIME Content-Transfer-Encoding Header Field

See more MIME Examples

Explains the Content-Transfer-Encoding header field and how it affects how data is stored in the MIME.

C

#include <C_CkStringBuilder.h>
#include <C_CkMime.h>
#include <C_CkByteData.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    BOOL success;
    HCkStringBuilder sbJpgBase64;
    HCkMime mime;
    HCkByteData mimeBytes;
    HCkByteData jpgBytes;
    const char *jpgBase64;
    const char *mimeStr;

    success = FALSE;

    //  The Content-Transfer-Encoding header field is typically set to one of these values:
    //  
    //    base64
    //    quoted-printable
    //    binary
    //    8bit
    //    7bit

    //  If the encoding is base64 or quoted-printable, then the bytes of the content are encoded as such.
    //  The values "8bit", "7bit", and "binary" all imply that NO encoding has been performed.

    //  Here are some guidelines and hints:
    //  
    //  1) "8bit", "7bit", and "binary" encodings (i.e. NO encoding) results in the smallest MIME.

    //  2) A "binary" encoding implies non-text data.  Binary MIME CANNOT be retrieved as a string.  It can only be retrieved as a byte array.

    //  3) "8bit" and "7bit" encodings imply text.  
    //     7bit implies that the text is us-ascii (all byte values less than or equal to 0x7F).
    //     8bit implies that the text contains non-us-ascii chars.

    //  4) Base64 is the best choice for encoding non-text data, such as PDF's, images, etc.

    //  5) quoted-printable is the best choice for encoding text data where most chars are going to be us-ascii. This would typically 
    //     include all Western European languages.  For Asian, Arabic, Hebrew, etc. where most chars in the text are non-us-ascii,
    //     the most efficient encoding would be base64.  

    //  Let's demonstrate with this small JPG image.

    sbJpgBase64 = CkStringBuilder_Create();
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEASABIAAD//gAmRmlsZSB3cml0dGVuIGJ5IEFkb2JlIFBob3Rvc2hvcD8g\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"NC4w/9sAQwAQCwwODAoQDg0OEhEQExgoGhgWFhgxIyUdKDozPTw5Mzg3QEhcTkBEV0U3OFBtUVdf\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"YmdoZz5NcXlwZHhcZWdj/9sAQwEREhIYFRgvGhovY0I4QmNjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2Nj\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"Y2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2Nj/8IAEQgAFAAUAwERAAIRAQMRAf/EABcAAAMBAAAA\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDBAX/xAAYAQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEAP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAB2kZY\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"NNEijWKddfTmLgALWH//xAAbEAACAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMRAAQSE//aAAgBAQABBQL0XqN+\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"pM2aqJGMiqFFCyg7z//EABwRAAICAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAERAAIQIQMSUf/aAAgBAwEBPwHqU5aq\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"Axx+y1tMQl4elj//xAAcEQEAAQUBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABEQACEBIhA1H/2gAIAQIBAT8B3Bhqy7Zc\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"enyiwmGgDhiOzj//xAAdEAABAwUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIREBIhIkFR/9oACAEBAAY/ArZyn+Cg\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"xtxWuJaoCnqDuin/xAAcEAABBAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABEhYRAxQVH/2gAIAQEAAT8hkEwPUUR9\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"DYfE4nxtRpIkBTsayuALIiuY/9oADAMBAAIAAwAAABDWPTsf/8QAGhEAAwADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAA\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"AAEREDFBIf/aAAgBAwEBPxC0DVPcWm+Ce4OesrkE6bjH/8QAGBEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREA\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"QRD/2gAIAQIBAT8QahMiOc8YgSrnTY3ELclHXn//xAAcEAEBAAIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAABEQAhMUFx\r\n");
    CkStringBuilder_Append(sbJpgBase64,"EFH/2gAIAQEAAT8Qn3igmSZSj+c4N4zapMy9IjFV98wncN2iuLFsCEbDGxQkI6RO/n//2Q==\r\n");

    mime = CkMime_Create();
    CkMime_putContentType(mime,"image/jpeg");
    CkMime_SetBodyFromEncoded(mime,"base64",CkStringBuilder_getAsString(sbJpgBase64));

    printf("%s\n",CkMime_getMime(mime));
    printf("-\n");

    //  The result:
    //  
    //  	Content-Type: image/jpeg
    //  	Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
    //  
    //  	/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEASABIAAD//gAmRmlsZSB3cml0dGVuIGJ5IEFkb2JlIFBob3Rvc2hvcD8g
    //  	NC4w/9sAQwAQCwwODAoQDg0OEhEQExgoGhgWFhgxIyUdKDozPTw5Mzg3QEhcTkBEV0U3OFBtUVdf
    //  	YmdoZz5NcXlwZHhcZWdj/9sAQwEREhIYFRgvGhovY0I4QmNjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2Nj
    //  	Y2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2Nj/8IAEQgAFAAUAwERAAIRAQMRAf/EABcAAAMBAAAA
    //  	AAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDBAX/xAAYAQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEAP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAB2kZY
    //  	NNEijWKddfTmLgALWH//xAAbEAACAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMRAAQSE//aAAgBAQABBQL0XqN+
    //  	pM2aqJGMiqFFCyg7z//EABwRAAICAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAERAAIQIQMSUf/aAAgBAwEBPwHqU5aq
    //  	Axx+y1tMQl4elj//xAAcEQEAAQUBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAABEQACEBIhA1H/2gAIAQIBAT8B3Bhqy7Zc
    //  	enyiwmGgDhiOzj//xAAdEAABAwUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIREBIhIkFR/9oACAEBAAY/ArZyn+Cg
    //  	xtxWuJaoCnqDuin/xAAcEAABBAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABEhYRAxQVH/2gAIAQEAAT8hkEwPUUR9
    //  	DYfE4nxtRpIkBTsayuALIiuY/9oADAMBAAIAAwAAABDWPTsf/8QAGhEAAwADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
    //  	AAEREDFBIf/aAAgBAwEBPxC0DVPcWm+Ce4OesrkE6bjH/8QAGBEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREA
    //  	QRD/2gAIAQIBAT8QahMiOc8YgSrnTY3ELclHXn//xAAcEAEBAAIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAABEQAhMUFx
    //  	EFH/2gAIAQEAAT8Qn3igmSZSj+c4N4zapMy9IjFV98wncN2iuLFsCEbDGxQkI6RO/n//2Q==
    //  

    //  Set the Content-Transfer-Encoding to "binary" by setting the Encoding property.
    CkMime_putEncoding(mime,"binary");

    //  Try to get the MIME string.  This CANNOT be done.  The bytes of the JPG image do not
    //  represent chars, and to return a string means that bytes must be interpreted according
    //  to some character encoding (such as utf-8).  Non-text binary bytes can only be 
    //  contained in a string IF encoded in some way. Encodings such as Base64, quoted-printable,
    //  URL, etc. exist to make it possible to represent binary data in string format.   
    printf("%s\n",CkMime_getMime(mime));
    printf("-\n");

    //  We CAN get the binary MIME as bytes..
    mimeBytes = CkByteData_Create();
    success = CkMime_GetMimeBytes(mime,mimeBytes);

    //  Regardless of the Content-Transfer-Encoding, the 
    //  body content can always be retrieved and the body bytes
    //  decoded from whatever encoding is used..
    jpgBytes = CkByteData_Create();
    success = CkMime_GetBodyBinary(mime,jpgBytes);

    //  To get the body in base64 format, first make sure
    //  the Content-Transfer-Encoding is base64, then call GetBodyEncoded.
    CkMime_putEncoding(mime,"base64");
    jpgBase64 = CkMime_getBodyEncoded(mime);
    printf("%s\n",jpgBase64);
    printf("-\n");

    //  Let's go back to "binary" MIME..
    CkMime_putEncoding(mime,"binary");

    //  Let's say we have MIME, and it was loaded directly from a file, or from
    //  a byte array.  (It was not loaded from the contents of a string variable.)
    //  We don't know whether the MIME contains binary or 8bit encodings, and thus
    //  we dont' know if the MIME is safe to get as a string.
    //  The Convert8Bit method can be called to recursively traverse the MIME and set
    //  all 8bit or binary encodings to "base64".  This makes the MIME safe for storing in
    //  a string.
    CkMime_Convert8Bit(mime);
    mimeStr = CkMime_getMime(mime);
    printf("%s\n",mimeStr);
    printf("-\n");


    CkStringBuilder_Dispose(sbJpgBase64);
    CkMime_Dispose(mime);
    CkByteData_Dispose(mimeBytes);
    CkByteData_Dispose(jpgBytes);

    }